Tick Tock
by xxpapercutxx
Summary: AU Sasuke is haunted by the ticking of a clock. A clock his brother, Itachi, gave him. He knew he couldn't trust a gift from his brother who practiced witchcraft. Sasuke can't stop hearing the ticking and seeing a boy who isn't real.
1. Prologue

Here's a new story that I made, inspired by a poem I wrote. Sorry it's so short but it is just the prolouge. I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong, but I don't have spell check at the moment. Anyway…Enjoy!

Pairing(s): Future SasuNaru or NaruSasu, others undecided.

Beta-ed by **Sasuke2006!** If you have time please go check out her stories and one-shot!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

-

**Tick Tock.**

The sound haunted him.

**Tick Tock.**

It wouldn't stop.

**Tick Tock.**

He was almost over the edge.

**Tick Tock.**

He could see the cliff.

**Tick Tock.**

Just one more step and he'd be free.

**Tick Tock.**

He fell to the ground…

-

Sasuke sat straight up in bed. His heart was racing and he felt cold sweat sticking to him. He sighed and ran a hand through his raven colored locks. These nightmares were killing him. The young man had never known that a clock could cause so much stress, but he should have known better since Itachi was the one to give it to him.

His eyes narrowed at the thought of his older brother. Itachi had always been trouble and a disappointment to the family. Deciding to take over the family business but abandoning it to pursue witchcraft, that left Sasuke to take over the large book company. Luckily Sasuke was a writer so it didn't interfere too much with his life.

Though as a sorry present Itachi had sent him an expensive grandfather clock. It was in great condition and was marvelously crafted. He decided that he could forgive the one person who understood him to some degree even if he had shamed the family, and accepted the gift.

He regretted his decision.

Apparently Itachi must have cursed him or something, for his life was chaos. The sound of the clock ticking was always in his head. He tried to block it out with work and music, but nothing worked. He'd even catch himself at times moving in time to the ticking of it. It drove him insane. However if he was ever near the clock and could hear it's tick and tock, the sound in his mind would stop. He'd come to three conclusions.

One, the clock was haunted.

Two, Itachi had cursed him.

Three, he had gone insane.

None of them looked all that appealing, but he soon realized after dealing with the never-ending ticking for a month that he'd be doomed to live with it forever.

It didn't stop him from hating it any less though. He could still despise it and curse the clock all hours of the day and night when he found the ticking to be overwhelming and annoying.

He glared at the clock from his bed. It sat in the corner of his room innocently keeping time, pretending as though it wasn't the cause for all his fatigue and paranoia.

His obsidian eyes lowered even more as he realized how he was giving the lifeless clock emotions.

Insanity was a very odd thing indeed.

Sighing he laid back down and closed his eyes, ready do drift back to sleep.

**Tick Tock.**

He growled as he heard the noise.

**Tick Tock.**

He really did hate the clock.

_**To be continued…**_

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Here's the next chapter finally. I hope you enjoy it!

**Warning: Shonen-ai**

**Pairing(s): Future SasuNaru or NaruSasu, others undecided.**

Beta-ed by **Siell**! If you have time please go check out her stories and one-shot!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter One**

_"It is rumored that famous writer Uchiha Sasuke is starting on a new novel. Many of his fans have to wonder whether it will be a tragedy again or perhaps this time have a happy ending. All we know is that with this talented young writer the book is sure to be good. Now we will discuss his fan club-" _

Sasuke sneered in disgust at the thought of all the girls that stalked him down the street proclaiming their false love for him. He knew he was young, rich, and handsome, basically the perfect man in a woman's eyes, but he had no need for such fake love in his life. No one he had ever met could ever match up to his standards, which were very high to say the least. They had to be his vision of perfection themselves, for him to even think of giving them a chance. There are only two people that ever came close: one being his brother Itachi, who was out of the question for they were family, and well, he considered it just plain wrong. The other was a painting. He didn't even know the person, or whether or not that person was a he or she, all he knew was they were beautiful and his perfection. Sadly enough the painter was dead along with the child of his he had done the portrait of. It seemed that Uzumaki Arashi had a child, but no records of the child existed. Sasuke could only suspect that something was horridly wrong with the child for him not to be known, or perhaps he was a beautiful secret being locked away. Either way Sasuke would never know.

The Uzumaki residence had been burnt down by Arashi himself and all the people in it had died. Only two bodies had been found, one being himself, and the other the mysterious child, though the child was burned beyond recognition. They could not even determine whether they had been male or female. They were so burnt it was as if they had almost turned to dust.

Sasuke felt bad for the child, but it's hard to miss someone you never knew. He was more disappointed to find that his perfection was in fact dead. Itachi had been his last choice, but the man was his brother and Sasuke found it disgusting to even think of being with him.

The raven-haired writer turned to look at the wall and stare at the painting once more.

The short blonde locks looked so soft and luxurious and the tan skin contrasted well with the hair but not so much as to make it look fake or unreal. The tan color was even and soft—if only he could feel it. But what Sasuke loved so much about the picture was the person's eyes. The sky blue was so infinite and enrapturing as it pulled him in making him lose himself in thought as he stared into the beautiful eyes of the stranger in the portrait. When he'd snap back to reality he'd then look on to see the perfectly arched eyebrows, and the rest of the other gorgeous contours of the blonde's face, all the way down to the full lips with the sharp chin that was slightly rounded making the person's face softer. The shoulders of the person were broad yet the body screamed slender, making it impossible to tell the gender of the person. All you could see from looking at the picture was that the person was smiling happily from youthful innocence. They were facing sideways showing only three quarters of the person's face and trailed down to show the neck before ending with showing the shoulders of the person. A hand was resting on their neck covering where the Adam's apple could be if it was a boy, so that made it impossible to tell the gender.

Sasuke didn't really care though. He wasn't biased on whether or not the person he'd love was male or female. In fact Sasuke barely believed in true love as it was. Frankly he didn't need meaningless things society said to make him not try to figure out whether or not love was real. He had decided after seeing all the problems people have in relationships, mostly from the soaps his mother would watch every day while Fugaku was at work and Sasuke was at home because he was too young for school, that he wanted to wait until he found the perfect person so he wouldn't have to deal with all the problems other people had had. It had been many years later that Sasuke realized that finding that perfect person would be much harder than he thought.

For one, Sasuke hated the world and the people in it. Too many times had he seen people's ignorance and selfishness corrupt the world even more each day.

He had watched how people simply passed a boy on the street saying that he was lost, and continued walking by because they felt it was not their problem. Only after Sasuke had went up and told the boy he'd help him did he find out it was actually a study that people were doing to see whether or not someone would help a lost little boy. Turned out the boy had been out there about two hours and not one person had stopped to help him. Sasuke had seen how uncaring people could be.

He also found how pointless people could be. In religion, it seemed that the people could not be happy with just having their own religion and having faith in it, they seemed to have to prove that their religion was in fact the correct one. He just didn't understand or comprehend why they had to be like that. Why wasn't it just enough to have faith? Why did they have to feel the need to prove they were right? Wouldn't that sort of just prove that they in fact doubted their faith?

He had to wonder too why war was so relied upon. He could only assume that the countries' leaders who were in charge _liked _to send people to their death. That only makes sense right? After all why else would war happen so much? In most cases it wasn't even necessary. Why did countries have to prove that they were better?

Then there was the whole suicide thing that people nowadays are so fond of. Why? Mostly because those people are really, really sad and are selfish enough to not try even for others' sakes. The family that loves them and the friends that care so much about them, they try so hard to make that person happy when they know that they're sad, yet then that person goes around and kills themselves. The family and friends only blame themselves. They feel that they didn't try hard enough, and that they could have done more. It will always haunt them how they weren't a good enough reason to live for.

Then there were just the normal everyday things. Like how people couldn't just be happy with what they had and they always felt the need to have more. Some people are just glad to eat everyday, while there were others who complained because they didn't get the $100 shoes they just _had _to have because if not it'd be the end of their social life as they knew it. Or how they took life and love for granted, doing stupid stunts like driving drunk or cheating on your boyfriend just to see if you can without him finding out. Those people were horrible in Sasuke's mind, disgusting scum he'd love to see die. Sasuke knew he was cruel, but he'd rather be cruel than be like the people he despised so much.

Secondly, Sasuke hardly ever went out in public if it wasn't absolutely necessary. He enjoyed silence and being alone. He liked his privacy and didn't like having to talk to people. The only people he did like speaking to were his mother and his brother. Sadly enough, Mikoto was very sick and was always in and out of the hospital. She was frail and weak, and Sasuke at times didn't even want to see her for it hurt so much to see the mother he loved look so sick. He also loved his brother Itachi very much, but it was hard to forgive him after what he had done. Itachi had been the promising son of the Uchiha family destined to do well and succeed in everything he tried, which he did, up until one point. Itachi decided to stop being an item his family used to make themselves look good and betrayed the family by breaking connections with everyone but his father, mother, and little brother. He told Sasuke he was much happier being able to live the life he had always wanted instead of the one that others wanted him to live, and Sasuke would have been able to understand that and appreciate it if in fact it had not been that Itachi was happier now that he was living a life of witchcraft.

Frankly, Sasuke thought that it had to be some phase all having to do with the Harry Potter obsession people nowadays seemed to have. He'd have to have a talk with J.K. Rowling next time he saw her at one of the writing conventions and tell her to write her next series about a successful business man. After all he hated seeing his brother look so weak, or maybe it was the fact that his brother was now wearing eyeliner and painting his nails purple that was scaring him. Either way, Sasuke didn't like this new image his brother had going.

Who would ever want a brother who had now claimed he had sold his soul to the devil in order to better himself as a person in society? Sasuke had had to hold himself back from calling the closest insane asylum, for his brother he feared, was really going insane. It may have been due to the pressure put upon him as a child, but really, Sasuke felt he should be the one going insane.

Thinking back, Sasuke had always been ignored unless it was that he should be compared to his 'perfect' older brother. His father had always been busy with work but loved his son dearly nonetheless, and always made sure that Saturday nights were spent watching family movies with Sasuke while he was a child, and then once Sasuke hit pre-teen age Fugaku then had to resort to forcefully making Sasuke spend time with him. For when you're thirteen, spending time with your parents is 'uncool'. Sasuke like all other teenagers was defiant, rebellious, and distant, much like he still is now, but on a much larger degree.

His mother had always been there for him, although Sasuke barely ever went to her when he needed advice or just a shoulder to lean on. He didn't know why he had been such a stupid teenager, for parents cared about their children, maybe it was just normal to be blinded by social status and insecure feelings that made you want to stay away from the two people who cared about you the most. Now though, Sasuke would occasionally pour out all his feelings to his mother, she had promised to keep everything a secret, especially how Sasuke admitted that, when he was six years old, he had a childlike crush on his brother and actually thought that they'd grow up and get married some day. It made Sasuke cringe to think back to how naïve and innocent he had once been, although he missed his simple days of ignorance, now life was a big mess of hate and pain. Children really are lucky, too bad they never know how lucky they are until they become adults and learn the cruelness of the world. Life really is unfair.

Sasuke just didn't understand life. It was so complex: so emotional, so stressful, and so complicated. He didn't understand why it had to be like that if in fact the meaning of life was to reproduce. At first he had been taken aback by how simple it was. Life was far too complicated for it only to be that. But thinking about it long and hard he realized how true it was. Stripping away all emotions and conscious thought, basic instinct was to reproduce. Everything that lives is meant to reproduce, animals, plants, insects, and people. Even bacteria, the smallest living thing, lives but to reproduce. The meaning of life is to reproduce, but that isn't to mean that there is nothing else you should live for.

His deep thought about his life was interrupted however by the shrill ringing of his telephone. Groaning with annoyance at the thought of someone calling him he stood and walked in a memorized path to where the phone was located. His feet felt oddly numb against the cold wooden floors of his home as he stopped in the hallway right before his kitchen and lifted the cordless phone from its cradle.

"Hello, Uchiha Sasuke speaking," Sasuke said in a bored yet slightly annoyed manner as he answered the phone.

"Sasuke, it's been so long since our last chat," Itachi said in mock happiness and Sasuke could feel the sarcasm dripping from the elder's voice as well as the superior smirk that adorned his brother's face.

"Itachi," Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, dear brother," Itachi began now speaking with feigned despair. "It seems as if you don't want to talk to me. Have I done something to anger you in any way?"

"Yes," Sasuke said glaring at his white walls with extreme annoyance.

"And what might that be?" Curiosity was actually present this time as the sarcastic tone left the other's voice.

"Live."

"Oh brother how you hurt my feelings so," Itachi said once again mocking his younger brother. "I've only lived to please you and yet you still despise me so. Oh woe is me."

"Itachi," Sasuke said closing his eyes as he tried to suppress his extreme annoyance with his brother at the moment as he raised his free hand to rest against the side of his face to keep it from clenching tightly by his side.

"Yes?"

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked wanting to end the phone call. He was still mad at his brother after all.

"Why do I always have to have a reason? Can't I just call my brother out of love and wanting to hear his sweet little voice?"

"No," Sasuke deadpanned letting the hand on his head fall limply back to rest at his side.

"Okay fine. Let's be serious now since you can't be any fun at all."

"Good."

"I called to tell you that I found another painting that might interest you," Itachi said his voice calm and refined like Sasuke was used to. He was actually quite fond of his brother when the elder wasn't acting childish.

"Oh really? And why would it interest me?"

"Because it has your blonde haired, blue eyed angel in it."

"…Where is it and for how much?" Sasuke questioned. You could say he had an obsession over the dead person, but Sasuke liked to think of it as a morbid interest.

"My apartment and free if you agree to have lunch with me today," Itachi said over the phone making sure that the hope he was feeling was not reaching through to his voice. His brother hated him sounding weak.

"Agreed," Sasuke said. "I'll meet you there at noon, goodbye." He clicked the phone off before setting it back in its cradle and moving at a sedated pace to his previous seat in the living room. The big black overstuffed armchair was always welcoming to his tired and restless body for he was usually kept up at night by an unwanted annoyance. Speaking of which he hadn't-

**Tick Tock. **

Looks like good things never last long. He sighed as he tried to relax. The clock he knew would taunt him until he died. He had tried so many ways to get rid of it.

He first sold it, but that only resulted in the ticking happening more often and much more loudly in his head. Then he tried burning it only to find it was back in mint condition the next morning right where it had always been. Next came breaking the clock, and it had worked for two days before somehow it began ticking again.

He just knew Itachi had cursed the clock. There was no other explanation for it.

**Tick Tock. **

Sighing he found himself lazily looking around the room trying to think of what to do when his eyes fell upon a spider crawling up his wall.

Crawling frantically. Quickly. As if it was late. Or perhaps scared?

Falling as it slipped. Somehow catching hold of the wall once more.

Silently sitting still. Unmoving as blank eyes watched it.

Then disappearing from view.

**Tick Tock. **

Somehow he knew that spider was going to cause him trouble later on. No doubt he'd wake up to find it crawling on him one night and end up getting bitten on the face as he tried to smack it off… which would then result in him having a huge, itchy bump on his face… which is something he didn't want. If only he could kill it, but now he had no idea where it had gone. In the blink of an eye it had disappeared.

**Tick Tock. **

What was the world coming to? Here he was pondering over a spider. The quote "Get a Life" came to mind as he tried to think of something to do. The problem with being anti-social and hating the world and the people in it was that you'd often get lonely and have nothing to do. For you have no friends, no places you like to go, and no hobbies, other than sitting around your house thinking of how much you hate the world, which, after a while, gets old.

Glancing around the room again he saw yet another spider. Which wasn't really all that odd, but today just happened to be the day that Sasuke would get paranoid.

_Spiders are going to take over the world and their first victim is going to be me… _

**Tick Tock. **

_And I hate my clock more than the thought of being murdered by spiders. _

**Tick Tock. **

_Apparently it hates me just as much as I hate it. _

**Tick Tock. **

_Or maybe even more than I hate it. _

Sasuke getting over his small pointless thoughts then stood and walked to his kitchen to get some paper towels. He had decided that the spiders were going to die then and there. They were irritating him at the moment and he didn't like that at all. Walking down the hallway back to the kitchen he offhandedly thought of grabbing socks for his cold feet once he had dealt with the evil spiders in his home. However, it seemed that today was just going to be one of those 'you shouldn't get out of bed today because you're going to hate it' days.

A stray piece of paper was lying on the floor and Sasuke being lost in thought of killing spiders didn't notice it as he stepped on it and moved his foot forward again causing himself to trip and fall slamming hard into the floor. The cold tile against his pale face would have felt soothing if it had not been in fact for the stinging pain that was coming from his cheek. He stood slowly as he brushed himself off and groaned in pain. The whole right side of his body was now sore and he would soon have to go deal with Itachi for a couple hours, this really was not his day.

Looking down at the piece of paper that had been the cause for the fall he didn't recognize it. In fact, Sasuke was a rather neat and orderly person, so the fact that he had no idea where the paper had come from had him intrigued. He decided that the evil spiders bent on world domination could wait to be killed another time as he picked up the paper and stared at unfamiliar handwriting that was scrawled across the slightly worn and crumpled paper.

"_In all honesty,  
__I hate being locked away.  
__Never to see the light of day.  
__Always to remain hidden from you.  
__A beautiful terrible secret,  
__Forgotten easily.  
__Waiting for that one person,  
__To come free me…" _

Sasuke stared confused at the piece of paper. It seemed it was poetry in a form of sorts, but he had not written it. Frowning deeply he slid the small paper into his black jeans pocket as he tried to figure out who would have written that and gotten it into his house. He came to the conclusion that it must have fallen out of one of the many fan letters he received and the girl was trying to charm him with her poetry. He actually thought it was quite nice, but he wasn't really too fond of the idea that some crazed fan had written it. He'd forget about it soon enough. With that taken care of he looked to the clock to see it was eleven thirty and about time he left for Itachi's.

Grabbing his keys, a coat, and his wallet he left his house, locking the door behind him. He lived just outside of the busy city that he had grown up in and Itachi lived on the border of the city so it was about a twenty-minute walk to his brother's apartment. He felt that he could use this time to brainstorm for his new book, or perhaps relax a little, seeing as the ticking had decided to fade away for the time being.

"Should it have a happy ending this time?" Sasuke said aloud to the crisp autumn air. Shaking his head gently he continued walking across the old cement sidewalk. Red, orange, yellow, and brown leaves danced around him as they spun happily before landing softly on the ground. Cars and people could be heard off in the distance as Sasuke got closer to the city. The silence that nature had was so beautiful, and yet humans destroyed it with all the cities they had made. But without those cities he probably wouldn't even be living let alone know of the beauty of silence that nature had if he had always lived with it. The things you hate for being there are what make you appreciate other things, so in a way he had to be thankful for the loud and busy city he had just walked in to.

He walked solemnly up the steps to Itachi's apartment and shook himself in an offhanded manner as if to remove the cold from his body before knocking lightly on the door in front of him. The door opened almost instantly afterwards and Sasuke felt the warm rush of air envelope him as Itachi appeared before him.

"Ah brother, I see you're on time as usual," Itachi said smiling slightly. Sasuke nodded and walked into the warm room before looking at the clock to see it was indeed exactly noon.

"I assume you aren't hungry and just want coffee right?" Itachi asked and smirked when he saw the annoyance reflected in Sasuke's eyes as he forced a nod. "Are you now not speaking to me?"

"Where is the painting?"

"Oh of course that is all you care about," Itachi said faking a sigh. "No more do you love your older brother. It's so heartbreaking to think about."

"Cut the theatrics, Aniki," Sasuke said seating himself on his brother's couch after removing his black coat. "You know I don't like wasting my time."

"Yes, I know," Itachi, said with a disappointed look in his eye. "Which is why you're still alone."

"I just haven't found anyone that interests me," Sasuke said in his defense.

"That is my point Sasuke, no one interests you," Itachi said dully. "The only thing that interests you is a person who is already dead."

"Can I just see the picture?" Sasuke said changing the subject.

"Fine," Itachi said moving towards his bedroom. "But you really should try to think of the reason why no one interests you."

Sasuke just frowned as he looked away knowing full well why no one interested him.

Other than him wanting to have his perfect person, he was afraid to love. He was absolutely horrified to trust someone so much that he'd be giving them the power to destroy him. Love was a beautifully terrible thing. It brought so much happiness while causing so much pain. You always hurt the ones you love the most, while they always bring you the greatest joy and vice versa. Love was what someone felt for something or someone when they felt as if that thing or person completed them. Love brings out the best in people. For example two dancers of the same skill that try out for the exact same part doing the perfect steps would seem that it would be a tie correct? Well not if one of the dancers happened to love dance while the other didn't, more like it was just something they did that they were good at. The dancer who loved what they did would reflect that in the dancing and it would be expressed how much they loved dancing, while the other would show just as much skill but it would seem as if something was missing.

On the flip side love brings out people's worst sides too. Jealousy is a very ugly thing, and sometimes you'll even hate the one you love, just for the simple fact that you love them. You basically hate that you love them. Which is entirely unfair for that person, yet people are selfish so they let that happen anyway. Love makes people lie and deceive. Love makes people kill and die in others names. Love can drive people crazy.

Which is why Sasuke knew how love was a beautifully terrible thing. Something that he didn't want, because he didn't want to get hurt. He didn't want to love, if he didn't know for sure that he'd love the person forever and they'd feel the same way about him. It was times like these that he felt like a romantic sap.

"Sasuke? Saaaaaaasuke?" Itachi questioned finally snapping his brother back to reality. Blinking his black eyes a few times Sasuke realized what he had been doing before he zoned out.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked as his eyes stared intently at the back of a painting Itachi was holding in his hands.

"I was afraid for a moment that you had gone comatose with your eyes open," Itachi said laughing lightly before stopping as he saw Sasuke's stoic face staring back at him. "Here." With that said the picture was handed to Sasuke and he turned it over to stare at his beautiful angel.

Tantalizing blue eyes met his as he looked at the painting entranced for a few moments before remembering it was only a painting and not the real person. Once more it was impossible to decipher whether or not it was a girl or boy, for they were wearing a scarf in this photo and dressed in many layers and baggy pants, which made it so you couldn't tell the figure the body of the person had. All you could tell was that they were slender and on the short side. The person was dressed for cold weather and sitting on a bench surrounded by colorful leaves in what looked to be deserted park. A small smile was on their lips and a childlike air hung around them from the way they were sitting. From what you could tell it looked like they had been swinging their legs back and forth while gripping the edge of the bench tightly with mitten-covered hands. The picture was simple but expressed a lot when you analyzed each part of it, for that is exactly what Sasuke did. He was glad to see the person was smiling in this one too. He didn't even realize that a small grin had made its way upon his own face as well.

"I assume you like it?" Itachi questioned causing Sasuke to look up from the painting at his older brother.

"Yes…" His voice trailed off looking down at the picture before speaking once more. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Itachi said warmly. "I'm trying to get back on your good side after all."

A twitch of annoyance ran throughout Sasuke.

"Then why did you give me a cursed clock?"

"Oh," Itachi began with nervous laughter. "About that. You see I didn't find out about that until after I had given it to you."

"Well is there a reason why it can't be destroyed?" Sasuke asked. He really just wanted to get rid of the thing for good.

"No."

"What do you mean no?" Anger spilled from his words as he glared at a face similar to his own.

"A ghost lives inside it," Itachi said simply.

"And?" Sasuke questioned clearly not seeing his point.

"Things ghosts reside in can't be so easily disposed of."

"Then how do I get rid of it?" Sasuke asked.

"Figure out what the ghost wants and do it for them so they will be appeased and move on to the after life."

"You've got to be bloody kidding me," Sasuke said with a sigh.

"Afraid I'm not," Itachi replied dryly.

"I'm going to need your help with this then. I'm not as experienced with this ghost and magic stuff as you are. In fact I don't even believe in it."

"You say that, yet you are asking for my help to get rid of a ghost?" Itachi said with a slight smirk on his face. His brother really was quite adorable.

"Don't question me. I'm still upset with you enough as it is."

"True, alright I shall help you. But-."

"But what?"

"But I have to go out of town on business for two weeks."

"You've got to be kidding me," Sasuke said again, this time followed by a frustrated sigh.

"I'm sure you'll be fine for two weeks Sasuke," Itachi said with a reassuring smile.

"If not it's your head," Sasuke replied. "I'm going to go now though, for you have me irritated."

"You won't even stay for coffee?" Itachi asked.

"No, not even for coffee. I need some sleep, I haven't been able to get much lately," Sasuke said with a tired sigh as he stood still holding the painting as he put on his coat before walking towards the door to leave.

"Ah well then I'll speak to you soon I suppose," Itachi said as Sasuke left through the door waving slightly in farewell.

Sasuke looked off into the distance while holding the painting close to him. He was that much closer to his angel with one more painting of them.

But for some reason he felt as if something he should know was evading him, something that was painfully obvious. He continued his walk home having already forgotten completely of the poem he had found only an hour ago.

-

Sasuke was very confused. The clock had not bothered him all day long yet as soon as he changed for bed and laid down to sleep he began hearing the ticking again.

**Tick Tock. **

Why had it only begun to start happening again now? Nothing had really changed at all. Or maybe the ghost just didn't like letting him sleep. Frowning at that thought he sat up and looked over at the clock.

"Do you hate me?"

Nothing but the normal sound of ticking came from it. With a sigh he lay back down and placed the pillow over his ears.

**Tick Tock. **

"So you do…" Sasuke said narrowing his eyes in anger and annoyance.

"I don't hate you," A voice said and Sasuke felt the blood drain from his face as he turned to look at the clock where the voice had come from, and standing there was a boy. A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes staring happily at Sasuke. "It's actually the opposite because I like you a lot!"

Sasuke felt numb. His angel was right there in front of him, in the flesh, and he knew it was a boy from the kid's voice. It was far too deep to be feminine.

"Why aren't you talking to me anymore?" The boy asked tilting his head to the side confused and with a hurt expression on his face.

"I'm going insane…" Sasuke mumbled to himself. "I'm really going insane."

"No you're not."

"Oh really?" Sasuke questioned staring at the blonde before him. "Then explain why you are alive and in my bedroom when you are supposed to be dead and in ashes somewhere."

"Simple," The boy said walking forward and pressing his lips against Sasuke's own but feeling nothing. He pulled back and smiled mischievously. "I'm a ghost."

_**To be continued…**_

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 2

This chapter is like a filler chapter and yes I know the ending for it is really, really bad. But I have no ideas for how to rewrite it and I had been stuck on it for about a week and just decided to write something and keep it going. Please forgive the bad ending.

**Also sorry this chapter is so short.**

**Warning: Shonen-ai**

**Pairing(s): Future NaruSasu or SasuNaru, others undecided.**

Beta-ed by **Siell**!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter Two**

It had all just been a dream, or that is what Sasuke wanted to believe when he sat up in his bed the next morning staring in suspicion at the clock. It however only innocently kept time not causing him any stress from its constant ticking for once. Sighing he stood and got out of his bed, he'd rather use his moments at peace with the clock to get work done rather than stress about a dream. Or at least he hoped it was a dream. He still was not going to believe in ghosts, that was Itachi's business.

But he couldn't make that small hope that resided within him diminish; he wished and hoped that there was a ghost. His angel, he had finally found his angel. Did he really only want it to be a dream? He couldn't even decide that for himself. It only caused him to further doubt it. _There's no such thing as ghosts. _He walked out into his living room and sat down at his laptop. Opening the top he tried to think back to what he had last written, and found he couldn't remember. Panic filled him at that thought. Why couldn't he remember? He had never had this problem before, and he was almost done with the book. How could he not remember where he had left off and what was next? He quickly went through his files to find what he had been working on last. He opened the file and quickly skimmed the words there before relaxing. He could remember everything now. The fear that had taken residence in his mind now faded away while he let his fingers dance over the keys.

**_The graveyard was desolate and he believed he was the only who would ever go into a place like this. If it had not been for Yuki he wouldn't even be here. That poor little girl who had wanted life so badly only to have it ripped away from her through disease, she wanted to be remembered. In his last promises to her she had told him to come here. To this cold and unused place. The gravestones were all worn from the weather and from age. Grass was overgrown and the smell of death was overwhelming as he carefully made his way through the graveyard. How was he ever supposed to find her mother's grave in this mess?_**

Sasuke quickly deleted all that he had just written. He found it disgusting. That was not what he had wanted to portray at all. He sat still deep in thought for a few moments before he calmed his mind and tried once more to write.

**_The darkness blanketed the young man as he searched for the grave. No light was present and he could feel death's chill surrounding him. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of her, of Yuki. That child that saved his life only to die days later from disease. She reminded him so much of himself when he had been younger and still so hopeful. So ignorant to how the world really was; she still believed that all her dreams could come true. Now she was lying in the ground somewhere not yet even beginning to rot away and she still never would come to learn the true horrors of the world._ **

_**He had known them all too well, and couldn't help the jealousy that filled him knowing that she'd never have to suffer. It made him cringe to know that he was so cruel. So…God I hate myself… Why can't I write today? Is it because the clock isn't ticking? Great. Now I'm dependent upon a clock.**_

He sighed as he deleted all that he had written once more. He was getting no where and the thought irritated him beyond belief. What was wrong with him? He hated the clock. So why was it that he couldn't write without it? Or maybe that wasn't the problem at all. Maybe he just wasn't in the right state of mind to write what he needed to write. This was supposed to be sad. Horribly unbearably sad. He wanted his readers to suffer with his character and feel the guilt of not being able to help that little girl that had stopped him from shooting himself. _All I need to do is think of what happened all those years ago when I was a child. I need to remember all the horrible things. I want to feel the pain again, and remember what it felt like when I realized I had murdered my best friend._

-

I don't remember much of what happened that day. I can only remember the blood. So much blood. The warmth of it as it flowed from the stab wounds that decorated his body promiscuously and soaked my clothes thoroughly. I don't even remember his name. Only that he was the first person that trusted me undyingly. That nameless boy from all those years ago, he was in love with me. He loved me; I know because he had told me before. Even after he knew he was going to die and at my hands he still smiled and said those three words I dread 'I love you'. If he had never said them, he never would have had to die.

I guess you could call me crazy. But I am not. I'm perfectly sane. I had every reason to kill him; I had no reason not to. You see, my friend was a demon. In fact he might have even been Satan himself. Well at least I think he was, after all I can't really remember much from that day. All I can remember is the fear that he made me feel. I can still feel it seep into me at night when I remember him. His touch was always so cold deceiving the warm looks he'd give me. That smile, I wanted to sew his mouth shut so he could never smile again without feeling pain. His voice even made me sick. All I wanted was to have him dead and gone from my life.

Do you know the ways I dreamt of killing him? Oh how many ways I had in mind. His death was going to be beautiful and perfectly executed. There are so many ways to kill a person, for human life is so fragile. It's so easy to lose your life, you have to hold onto it so tightly if you even want to have a chance at living under any circumstances. His deaths all had titles and had been acted out in my mind so many times. They were all intricate and carefully thought out.

In most it involved torture. Mostly when I'd chop off his fingers one by one. Or I'd burn his skin in various places. Sometimes I'd pour acid into his eyes and then watch as it burned through his eyes until it hit his brain and see as he shook uncontrollably until he lied still while his flesh still burned away. There were just so many possibilities.

I also enjoyed playing with thoughts of slicing the skin. Tracing the knife delicately over his soft skin and watching the skin break apart and the crimson substance slowly seep through. Making designs that showed how pretty it looked in red against white. Seeing his eyes widen in fear and pain as he begged me to stop and spare his life. Hearing his voice tremble only made me anticipate his end even more as I found myself shake with excitement.

Sometimes he would die quickly. He would be shot through the head or chest, leaving him only moments to realize I had betrayed his trust. Or I'd poison his food and watch as he dies quickly once it enters his system and see the horror in his eyes as I just watch laughing as he collapses in pain. Agony spread across his face captured so purely.

Death to me is just so beautiful at times.

None of my fantasies happened though. In the end it was a messy death. He had stab wounds decorate his skin and blood splayed everywhere. It smothered the snow-white skin around him as he lay there with only acceptance in his eyes. Then he whispered those words one last time before he smiled as he died. I don't think anyone knows I've killed another person. Not even my brother or mother. I don't feel any guilt for it at all. For he deserved to die. I wanted to see him suffer there on the ground, but he didn't. I only regret not being able to do more to make his death as miserable and perfect as possible. He didn't deserve the forgiving death he was given. He didn't suffer enough.

Then while staring at the blood and feeling the adrenaline rush leave, I realized what I had done. I'd killed him. I was so afraid that I just ran home and cried to my mom and brother that some man attacked us and he stabbed my friend to death. I also told them that I had been so scared that I just ran away; they always thought I felt guilty for killing him. I don't. I'm kind of glad he's dead. It's just rather shocking to realize you just killed a person. The fear of being caught and hated is so overwhelming. You just can't tell anyone what you've done.

It's my dirty little secret. I don't think I'll ever tell anyone. I'll take it with me to the grave. It's mine and mine alone. No one else. He was my victim and my best friend. I can't hold back the smile that reaches my face when I think of how he'll never be anyone else's friend but mine. He was mine and now that he's dead no one else can have him.

-

Sasuke let a twisted grin slide into place as he looked back at the glowing screen before him before letting his fingers fly.

**_A creeping feeling swelled inside the young man as he stood before the desolate place. His eyes filled with the want and need that fueled him to go into such a place. The dead whispered around him as the trees sang songs of life long past. The image of Yuki burned in his mind. Her tears as she screamed at him how worthless he was to not appreciate what she had done for him. That he was wasting his life; that she didn't even get a chance to live. That he was worthless and useless. He had broken that day and the uncaring self had left him as he watched the child cough up blood onto the bleached white sheets of the lifeless hospital room. Her words haunted him even after her death._**

"_**You are the worst person imaginable. You live without really living and you take your life for granted! I wish I could turn back time and help you shoot the gun! I hate you. I hate people like you. I don't even have a chance at life while you get to live!"**_

_**It could be the reason why he was carrying out her one wish. She had been sick her whole life, and had never once visited her dead mother's grave. Her mother, the woman who had given her life while her own was taken in the process. The guilt filled her whole being so much that you could see it seeping off of her. She had died with hate filling her though; hate for the world and all those living. She didn't understand why she had to die when so many other people didn't.**_

"_**I'm sorry Yuki…" Was that really enough to say though? That child was dead, not even yet eight years old. She had never gotten a chance to live. Ever since birth she was plagued with illness after illness. Such a strong girl who fought so hard to hold onto the thin string of life. He was now going to live for her. He'd complete her list; the list of things she had wished she could have done before she died. Only one thing was checked off. Which was 'Save a life'. He owed her so much, but finishing her list would have to be enough for there was nothing else he could do.**_

_**Feet trudged heavily on the ground as he kept fighting his way through the overgrown grass and thick mud. He had to find the grave. The thought of that girl keeping him going as he kept moving through the graveyard. After hours of searching he came across the grave that was of Yuki's mother. An old picture in a plain frame sat on the grave. Its edges worn with age and the glass cover cracked. The smiling woman in the photo was faded from the weather and the color was smeared together. For some reason the woman looked familiar to him. He hated how it seemed as if the answer should be so obvious, and yet he still couldn't figure out why. Then looking at the name of the woman he realized it.**_

_**That woman, Yuki's mother, was his dead wife. That child, Yuki, was his dead daughter.**_

_**He felt pain grip his heart as he fell to his knees. But it lasted only a moment before he realized that his former self was dead. This new life he was living was for Yuki, to complete her goals in life. With a heavy sigh he stood with one last look at the grave of a woman he had once loved before walking out of the graveyard; no longer the man he had once been.**_

Sasuke felt unsatisfied, but his editor would like it as well as his many fans. They'd want this ending. Not the horrible ending he had in mind. They didn't want a story ending in death; they wanted one with new life. They wanted a romance; bittersweet or childish it didn't matter. They wanted cute not gore or horror. They wanted to see a pretty picture that is painted over the horrors of the world and all the bad things that they want to forget.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke tensed immediately at the regretfully familiar voice. His body stiff as he turned to see the ghost boy from the night before looking curiously down at the screen of his computer from beside him. Sasuke would have probably fainted had it not been he was so in denial of the ghost even being there.

"You aren't real." He'd deny it as long as he could. A hurt look crossed the phantom's face as he sat down on the couch beside Sasuke. If Sasuke could feel his touch he would have felt the boy's head resting on his shoulder while the weight of the boy's body was placed against his own. Content with just sitting like that since it seemed the man was intent on ignoring his presence. Sasuke frowned when he looked over to just see that the ghost was relaxing beside him.

"Why do you deny what you can't even prove wrong?" The blonde ghost laughed bitterly as he stood and moved to stand before Sasuke. "It's not like you're much of a human. You are barely alive as is. You live as an empty shell that hates the world and all in it, yet you lived while I had to die."

"Fate doesn't discriminate," Was Sasuke's quick reply. Just because he didn't believe in ghosts didn't mean he could not have a conversation with one. He sighed once more as he looked over at the transparent being in front of him. "If you are a ghost why exactly are you haunting me?"

"You're Uchiha Sasuke right?" He asked with a small smile on this fox-like face. His blue eyes gleamed in excitement despite his deceased state. Sasuke nodded his head and the boy jumped up and down happily.

"Why are you so happy?" Sasuke was indeed confused. No one should be so happy to meet someone after death. In fact no one should meet anyone after death, for they should just stay dead.

"You're my favorite author!" Sasuke groaned despite his upbringing; normally he wouldn't so openly show his displeasure to strangers. It's not that he didn't appreciate other's enjoying his writing; it was more so that his fans were just annoying. He didn't like the constant attention; he was one to live on his own. Sasuke didn't want to have to deal with a dead fan in his home, which was the one place he had to escape from them.

"So you didn't go on to wherever ghosts go because you wanted to speak to me before you moved on?" Sasuke couldn't help but dread that the answer would be yes; which could mean him having to deal with a loud and obsessive fan until they were satisfied with speaking to him. The ghost however got quiet and walked through the table in front of him to the large window that was on the other side of the room. With a sigh and a sad look the ghost stared at the forest beyond Sasuke's home. The green and white clashing beautifully and chaotically all at once, there was no order or pattern to how the forest grew. All unknown were the things that went on when eyes weren't looking; like when a murder would take place. He stared in a certain direction and smiled sadly when he turned back to face the raven-haired man.

"No…" He paused and glanced back towards the window before walking forward a little and sitting on the opposite side of the table on his knees. Hands were placed to look as if they were resting on the table and the fingers of those hands danced in a nervous fashion. "I was killed in a house in this forest and… Well, I wasn't ready to die. I hadn't even had a chance to really live. My father kept me locked inside of that house all the time…he was afraid to lose me like he lost my mother." A sad smile was on the boy's face now. "I know he loved me, but he was keeping me locked away like a dirty secret. I'm surprised I can even speak since he was the only human contact I ever had. It's probably because of your books. I learned how people acted through them. Which is why I wanted to meet you, you gave me a taste of what living was really like when I read your books."

Sasuke sat silently while the ghost went off on his little speech. It wasn't so much that he was shocked by the story, more so that he actually found himself feeling sorry for this boy. He didn't like pitying people though; he thought it was wrong to pity someone. In a way it would be like forcing your feelings upon them. Making them feel like they have a reason to be pitied and that is not always the case. Smirking at the irony of a ghost making him feel sorry for it he stood and reached out offering his hand to the ghost.

"Even if I may be insane and talking to a being I don't think exists," Sasuke started watching the boy look at him in wonder. "I'm going to think of this as a dream that happens once in a lifetime. Uchiha Sasuke, nice to meet you."

The boy looked confused for a moment longer before shrugging his shoulders and letting a happy smile onto his face. He reached out his hand and shook it with Sasuke's and for just a moment Sasuke thought he had felt the warm flesh of another hand against his. Keeping his practiced stoic mask in place he noted the odd sensation while letting his hand fall away back to his side.

"Uzumaki Naruto, it's nice to meet you too." The boy seemed so genuinely happy that Sasuke was speaking with him too. It made Sasuke feel a twinge of guilt before discarding it as pity for a dead person. Sasuke blinked without thought for a moment before he gave a gentle sigh through his lips and stood.

"You should be back to wherever you came from," Sasuke said. "I can do nothing to appease your soul." He began to walk away and felt a sad presence fill the room before he turned to see that the ghost-no, that Naruto was gone.

He pulled his lips tight as he stared at the spot the boy had been. He didn't like this boy; he was too familiar. He was too close to his vision of perfection. Too close to being someone Sasuke could truly love.

For Sasuke was actually afraid of love. He wanted love so badly to the point that he despised the thought of ever finding it. It was a fear he had gained at a young age. He saw all the relationships in his family fall apart. If you were an Uchiha you were raised to get ahead and do better trusting no one but yourself. Always were you expected to succeed and failure was not even in your vocabulary. Success was looked highly upon even if you had to step on loved ones to get there. Cheating to get ahead was fine as well, that is as long as the press was silenced.

Sasuke had never had a very good outlook on love. The fact that the person he thought he could love was dead and now haunting him as a ghost had come as a shock. Not that he was going to let the ghost know that. Glancing down at his shaking hand he cursed and grabbed it; it was the hand he had touched the boy with. He wasn't going to let himself fall foolishly in love just because he had convinced himself that the boy was only one he could fall in love with. He wasn't going to make it easy for himself.

Sasuke didn't want to fall in love. Sighing in frustration he returned to his bedroom and laid down on his bed trying to figure out what to do until Itachi would be back to help get rid of the ghost. It's not like he could just ignore the ghost; when you've been alone for so long you begin to crave attention. But he hated to always be the center of attention so he'd rather be in solitude then in the public's constant watching eye.

_What to do…what to do… _It frustrated Sasuke to no end that he couldn't think of anything. He didn't want the ghost there, yet he did. It was a contradiction. Sasuke didn't have inner contradictions when it involved feelings. It was only supposed to be about the mind, feelings just got in the way. It made him _try _not to think of ways but he did want the attention, but at the same time didn't. Scowling up at the ceiling the man felt as if he was a teenager again that was just trying to fit in with society. It was just too hard and too demanding. So much is expected of you and the stress could be enormous. He had to deal with peer pressure and family pressure during his high school life, which had made him unsure of many things. He had wanted to please his family but at the same time he wanted to do the exact opposite just to piss them off.

It made no sense to him still why as a teenager he had been so stupid and indecisive. But he concluded that it was just part of growing up and finding yourself. That was the thing though. He was grown up and shouldn't have been having these same kinds of feelings again. Out of all experience in life; he had never had much experience in relationships.

Sasuke had never been on a date. He'd never had a girlfriend, nor boyfriend for that matter. His first kiss had been a joke from his brother because he had refused to wake up one morning so Itachi had kissed him. In fact he had even avoided remotely intimate situations. He'd make excuses just to leave a room if he was alone with another person; and when he was confessed to he'd say he liked someone else. Though that had led to lots of rumors and guessing. But in the end Sasuke had always been alone.

_That's not going to change. _He didn't want it to change. He stared blankly at his ceiling still trying to figure out why he was even thinking so much on this. _I'm such an idiot. Getting all worked up over a dead person. I really am going insane._

Maybe it was because the person was dead that he was being so out of character from himself; or maybe that was just his excuse. Sasuke didn't like admitting to things he thought were unacceptable so he chose to ignore the truth in favor of what his mind made up that made sense.

"I hate love," Sasuke stated to himself. So much inner turmoil came just from thinking about the possibility of falling in love and he hadn't even started to like someone in that way. Deciding to just sleep on it he turned over on his bed and closed his eyes wishing sleep to take him over.

**Tick Tock.**

The clock had other plans.

**Tick Tock.**

It must be a curse. There was no way that a fan would torture him so much. That boy was taking revenge on him for no reason. Sasuke's paranoia only grew when he thought he could hear footsteps coming towards him but as he looked in that direction there was nothing. The ghost wasn't even in view and had never hidden himself from Sasuke before, so why would he do so now?

**Tick Tock.**

A creeping feeling crawled up his spine as he sat up in bed. The clock far from his mind as the steps stopped next to his bed and he felt the soft breathing of a person beside him and then the cold touch of a hand on his cheek before a voice whispered in his ear.

_"I love you Sasuke…"_

**_To be continued…_**

**Please review and tell me what you thought of it.**


End file.
